The New York Cheese Trail

The Empire State’s history, climate, and dairy expertise continue to fuel a thriving artisan cheese industry.

Picture a quarter-mile of New York streets lined in both directions with wagons piled high with cheese. That was Little Falls in 1866, when, on a single day, more than 380,000 pounds of Herkimer County cheese rolled into the railroad station. During an average season, 25 million to 30 million pounds changed hands here.

From 1864 to 1870, this small Mohawk Valley city was the world’s largest interior cheese market, with prices set in Little Falls helping determine cheese values across the United States and influencing international trade. America’s first Dairy Board of Trade followed here in 1871.

Today, cheese lovers can step back into that remarkable era at the Little Falls Historical Society Museum, where an exhibit tells the story of the nation’s first cheese market.

“Few places have shaped American cheesemaking quite like the Empire State,” says Rachel Banks, president of the New York State Cheese Council (NYSCC), in Orchard Park, NY, and recipe development specialist and caves manager for South Dayton, NY-based Eden Valley Creamery. “New York’s influence on the cheese world stretches back more than two centuries. Early Dutch and English settlers brought traditional cheesemaking techniques to the region, while New York’s fertile farmland and favorable climate helped establish one of the country’s earliest dairy industries.”

This foundation grew (aided by the Erie Canal) advances in cheesemaking standards at the New York State Fair and, eventually, for Cornell University’s dairy research and education.

Nowadays, 60-plus cheesemakers statewide carry that legacy forward, transforming cow, goat, and sheep milk into everything from fresh chèvre and bloomy-rind cheeses to washed rinds, blues, alpine styles and aged cheddars.
Behind this growing artisan community, the NYSCC has been building connections through education, outreach and promotion. Its interactive map points cheese lovers to more than 115 locations across the state. It’s a great starting point for discovering the cheesemakers, farms, and distinctive cheeses writing New York’s next chapter.

Here is a sampling of cheesemakers fulfilling the state’s hub:

1. Churchtown Dairy
Hudson, NY

A legendary farmer, the woman who saved the land, and a beloved cow all have namesakes in Churchtown Dairy’s cheese case. It’s a lineup with a story rooted as deeply in the Hudson Valley soil as the farm itself.

Beginning in the 1980s, Peggy Rockefeller preserved more than 2,700 acres of farmland from development. In 2008, daughter Abby took over 250 acres in Churchtown, building a dairy around organic and regenerative agriculture. Milk production followed, and in 2017, head cheesemaker Matt Spiegler arrived to develop cheeses showcasing the farm’s milk.

Two originals remain standouts. Wendell, named for farmer and writer Wendell Berry, is a raw-milk, semi-firm Tomme that’s buttery, bright and piquant. Peggy, honoring the farm’s founder, is a Camembert-style cheese with notes of sweet hay and fresh cream that turns decadently gooey with age.

“We’re really proud of our newest cheese, the Redwood,” says Spiegler.

Named for a beloved matriarch of the herd, Redwood is a 4-pound raw-milk pudgy wheel washed in Taconic Gold Cider from nearby Little Apple Cidery. Buttery, fruity, and full-flavored, it offers more Alpine notes than Wendell and a soft, fudgy paste.

“We love it with a glass of Little Apple’s ciders, or the Morris Ale from Roe Jan Brewery in Hillsdale, NY,” says Spiegler. “It pairs well with salumi and pickles and ferments of all kinds.”

Better yet, buy a wedge at Churchtown’s farm store, which is open year-round, then wander the gardens and watch the herd being milked.

2. Eden Valley Creamery
South Dayton, NY

One of Western New York’s most famous sandwiches has found its way into a cheese. Eden Valley Creamery’s Gitane on Weck takes inspiration from the region’s beloved Beef on Weck, Buffalo’s iconic sandwich of rare roast beef, salty caraway-studded kummelweck, and fiery horseradish, transforming its signature caraway taste into a Tomme-style, natural-rind cheese.

Founded in 2019, Eden Valley Creamery uses certified single-source organic milk from the Mammoser family’s multigenerational dairy, established in 1949, to make handcrafted artisan cheeses. Today, the multi-family-owned creamery carries that dairy tradition forward, crafting fresh cheese curds; aged cheeses such as cheddar, Havarti, and Gouda; and natural-rind artisan-style cheeses.

“Our signature cheeses are Gitane on Weck and Wanderer, both award-winning cheeses that represent two distinct sides of our cheesemaking philosophy,” says NYSCC’s Banks.

While Gitane celebrates Western New York, Wanderer looks toward Europe. This Alpine-style cheese offers a supple texture and buttery flavor layered with toasted-nut and malt notes. Banks suggests pairing Gitane with horseradish honey mustard, hearty bread and a local beer, while serving Wanderer with dry hard cider, cured meats, crisp apples and toasted nuts.

Newest to the cave is Luna, a soft-ripened bloomy-rind cheese with a mushroomy exterior and increasingly luscious, buttery center. “It’s an elegant yet approachable cheese that we’re excited to share,” says Banks.

Drizzle Luna with honey and herbs, or go decidedly less traditional: score the top, bake until gooey, and break out the kettle chips for dipping.

3. Four Fat Fowl
Stephentown, NY

For the makers of Four Fat Fowl, the perfect St. Stephen is so ripe and gooey it practically becomes its own dip. Cut off the top, tear into a fresh baguette and dig in.

That indulgent triple-cream cheese was the first creation from the Stephentown, NY, creamery founded in 2013 by master cheesemaker Willy Bridgham, his wife Shaleena, and Willy’s sister Josie Madison. The idea had percolated during family vacations before the couple honed their craft at Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, 15 miles south.

The family eventually took the plunge: Willy would make the cheese, Shaleena would sell it, and Josie would manage everything in between.

St. Stephen remains the flagship. Made with milk and cream from Dutch Hollow Farm, the soft-ripened triple cream fills a niche its makers saw for a New York specialty cheese in this decadent style.

“Our favorite way to eat St. Stephen is when it’s super old and gooey,” says Bridgham. “Some would say they like it younger, so they can cut and slice or bake it, but for us, the older the better.”

Now there’s CamemBertha, Four Fat Fowl’s second and newest cheese. This Camembert-style wheel brings a springy texture and earthy undertones to the table. Bridgham suggests going classic with fruit and a glass of room-temperature wine, or warm it until luscious and scoop it up with crusty bread or crisp potato chips.

4. Jones Family Farm
Herkimer, NY

Sometimes customers know what a farm should make before the farmers do. When shoppers repeatedly passed on goat meat but enthusiastically proclaimed their love for goat milk cheese, Suzie and Peter Jones, owners of Jones Family Farm got the hint.

The couple bought a small herd of Nubian goats and launched their namesake creamery in 2009, initially renting processing space before converting the farm’s milk house into a creamery a year later. A 2019 expansion added aging caves, production space and a retail store with windows offering a peek into the cheesemaking.

“I’d say our signature cheese is our fresh chèvre buttons, which we’ve done from the very beginning,” says Jones. “They are very delicate and have converted many a goat cheese skeptic.”

Another favorite, New York Crème Cheese, is a lighter, flavorful take on full-fat cream cheese popular with local bagel shops and cheesecake bakers.

Daughter Harper, 24, is putting her own stamp on the cheesemaking. After learning with goat milk feta, she experimented with small-format, mold-ripened cheeses before creating Pazuzu, with a soft P. candidum rind and a layer of sumac and earthy spices. As it ages, the paste turns satiny, pairing beautifully with chewy cumin- or coriander-scented bread.

Underlying it all is the farm’s “Fair Shake Milk” philosophy, which supports other family farms with an agreed-upon price floor that covers production costs and rises when market prices do. As Jones puts it, “We need a healthy farm ecosystem to survive.”

5. Oakfield Corners Dairy
Batavia, NY

This 12th-generation New York farm looked to Latin America for its newest chapter, turning milk into cheeses that taste like home.

The Oakfield Artisanal-brand cheese adventure began in 2023, when former farm intern Molly Moffett was invited back to start a creamery. Cheesemaking began on the farm in spring 2024, fulfilling a longtime goal to diversify into value-added products.

Moffett, now cheesemaker and operations manager, focused on fresh Latin American-style cheeses, working with the farm’s Hispanic employees to develop recipes rooted in the flavors they knew and loved.

Today, the lineup includes Queso Fresco, Queso Chihuahua and Queso Oaxaca. Chihuahua earned third place at the 2024 American Cheese Society competition, while Oaxaca took first in 2025.

Hand-stretched Oaxaca, formed into an eye-catching ball of cheese ropes that pull apart like string cheese, is best known for its milky, creamy, tangy taste.

“It’s the most challenging and rewarding one to make,” says Moffett.

It’s equally rewarding in the kitchen. Moffett loves cooking with Oaxaca for its beautifully smooth melt but offers another fresh take: marinate it in oil and balsamic, then pair it with ripe tomatoes and bread.

For now, Oaxaca is Oakfield’s newest creation, but the young creamery plans to expand its cheese line in the coming years.

6. Shtayburne Farm Creamery
Rock Stream, NY

A taste of Shtayburne Farm can be as familiar as a wedge of cheddar or as unexpected as a spoonful of peach-habanero Quark. That range reflects a Finger Lakes-based dairy family willing to stretch tradition while staying firmly rooted on the farm.

Dairy farming runs generations deep in the Hostetler family. Looking for a way to remain on the farm without expanding into a mega-dairy, owner-cheesemaker Lorin Hostetler began exploring cheesemaking in 2009. After apprenticing with a Pennsylvania cheesemaker and studying at Cornell University, he built the creamery and made his first batch in October 2010.

Cheddar and cheese curds came first, followed by Monterey Jack. Today, Summit is the signature cheese: a cheddar-based cheese with buttery, nutty, caramelized complexity and a slightly crumbly texture. “My personal favorite way to eat it is to get a few pieces,” says Hostetler, who pairs it with raspberry rosé wine jam and crackers.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Quark, a European-style fresh, mild, spreadable cheese rich in protein that inspired use in everything from pancakes and cheesecake to stuffed pasta and bagels. New piquant versions push it further, including peach habanero and roasted garlic, with rosemary in development. “The possibilities are endless,” says Hostetler.

7. Yancey’s Fancy
Corfu, NY

Few cheesemakers can say they’ve spent nearly a century putting unexpected flavors into a wedge. Yancey’s Fancy can. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the New York cheesemaker is still finding new ways to surprise cheese lovers.

The story began in 1926, when German immigrant Leo Kutter started handcrafting artisan cheese in Cowlesville, NY. Shortly after World War II, Kutter built a factory in nearby Corfu, where Yancey’s Fancy still makes cheese today. Its lineup now includes more than 80 varieties of cheeses, spreads and fresh cheddar curds.

Flavor has long been its calling card. The collection ranges from Original Horseradish Cheddar and triple-crème Grand Reserve Bergenost Havarti to 18-month XXX-Sharp White Cheddar and Smoked Gouda with Bacon. Champagne Cheddar and Strawberry Chardonnay Cheddar showcase wines from New York’s Finger Lakes, while Original Buffalo Wing Hot Sauce Cheddar gives another hometown favorite the cheese treatment.

“Our newest offerings are definitely as bold and unique as our original cheese catalog,” says Michael Best, marketing manager.

That includes Pabst Blue Ribbon Cheddar, created with Pabst Brewing Co. to capture the beer’s hoppy character and citrus undertones. Even more unexpected is Ube Gouda, pairing earthy purple sweet potato with hints of vanilla and caramel.

Best suggests enjoying the classics with crackers, charcuterie or a cold beer, while newer flavors shine tucked into a grilled cheese sandwich, melted over burgers, tossed into mac and cheese, or featured on an eclectic cheeseboard.